A Blog of Sermons, Devotional Thought, Religious Topics, and Just fun information and thoughts from Rev. Keith GeRue
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
Between Girard and Virden Illinois
Seventh Sunday of Easter Numbers 14:1-25; Luke 18:18-34
May 17 Numbers 14:26-45; Luke 18:35-19:10; Numbers 15:1-41
May 18 Numbers 16:1-22; Luke 19:11-28
May 19 Numbers 16:23-40; Luke 19:29-48
May 20 Numbers 16:41-17:13; Luke 20:1-18; Numbers 18:1-19:22
May 21 Numbers 20:1-21; Luke 20:19-44
May 22 Numbers 20:22-21:9; Luke 20:45-21:19
Next Weeks Lessons: THE FEAST OF PENTECOST
Man’s self-exaltation causes a confusion of language. In his desire to make a name for himself, he brings the judgment of being divided and scattered. (Genesis 11:1–9) However, by the coming of the Holy Spirit, mankind is brought together and united in Christ. Language barriers are broken down as the people hear the wonderful works of God in their own native tongue. (Acts 2:1–21) Through the preaching of the cross, the Holy Spirit draws people from all nations into the one, holy, Christian, apostolic church. The Holy Spirit teaches and brings to our remembrance the words of Jesus, which are the words of the Father who sent Him. These words bestow forgiveness and peace to those who keep and hold on to them in love for Jesus. For He said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:23–31)
Collect: O God our merciful Father, who taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending to them the light of Your Holy Spirit, bring us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who with You and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Old Testament: Genesis 11:1–9 [Confusion of languages] Epistle: Acts 2:1–21 [Pentecost] Holy Gospel: John 14:23–31 [Jesus goes to the Father]
Sixth Sunday of Easter Numbers 3:1–16, 39–48; Luke 14:25—15:10; Numbers 4:1—8:4
May 10 Numbers 8:5–26; Luke 15:11–32
May 11 Numbers 9:1–23; Luke 16:1–18
May 12 Numbers 10:11–36; Luke 16:19–31
Ascension Day Numbers 11:1–23, 31–35; Luke 17:1–19
May 14 Numbers 11:24–29; 12:1–16; Luke 17:20–37
May 15 Numbers 13:1–3, 17–33; Luke 18:1–17
THE ASCENSION OF OUR Lord
On the 40th day after His resurrection, our Lord ascended to the right hand of the Father. But although Jesus is hidden from your eyes, He is not absent from you. For He now fills all things in heaven and on earth. He continues “to do and to teach,” (Acts 1:1–11) preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins through those sent in His name, (Mark 16:14–20; Luke 24:44–53) giving you His true body and blood in the Supper. Jesus is your great Elijah who pours out on you a double portion of His Spirit in the Word and the Sacraments. (2 Kings 2:5–15) He is Lord over all things for the sake of the church. He whom heaven cannot contain has raised your human nature to share fully in the glory of God. You who believe and are baptized into Christ’s body are already sitting in heavenly places; for you are in Him who is at the Father’s right hand. When He comes again in the clouds on the Last Day, you also will appear with Him in glory.
Collect
Grant, we implore You, almighty God, that just as we believe Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to have ascended into the heavens, so may we also in heart and mind to heaven ascend, and continually dwell with Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Old Testament: 2 Kings 2:5–15 [Elijah taken up into Heaven]
Fifth Sunday of Easter Leviticus 20:1–16, 22–27; Luke 11:37–54
May 3 Leviticus 21:1–24; Luke 12:1–12
May 4 Leviticus 23:1–22; Luke 12:13–34
May 5 Leviticus 23:23–44; Luke 12:35–53
May 6 Leviticus 24:1–23; Luke 12:54—13:17; Leviticus 25:1–55
May 7 Leviticus 26:1–20; Luke 13:18–35
May 8 Leviticus 26:21–33, 39–44; Luke 14:1–24; Numbers 1:1—2:34
ROGATE—THE Sixth SUNDAY oF EASTER
“Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.” (John 16:23–33) To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray as one baptized. For it is in the water that He put His name upon you, claiming you as His own, making you sons of God in Him with access to the Father. By His incarnation and crucifixion our Lord Jesus broke through the barrier of sin which separated us from God, opening a portal to the Father. To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray with faith in Him as the one Mediator between God and men, who gave Himself a ransom for all. (I Timothy 2:1–6) Like Moses in the wilderness, Jesus is our go-between and intercessor before the throne of heaven. He was lifted up for us on the cross that we might be saved and restored to fellowship with the Father. (Numbers 21:4–9) Looking into this perfect teaching of liberty (James 1:22–27) we pray with boldness and confidence as dear children of God.
Collect
O God our Father, from whom all good things do come, grant to us, Your humble servants, that by Your holy inspiration we may think those things that be right and by Your merciful guiding may perform them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Savior, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Old Testament: Numbers 21:4–9 [Bronze snake]
Epistle: 1 Timothy 2:1–6 [Pray for all]
Holy Gospel: John 16:23–30 (31–33) [Ask and you will receive]
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Holy Spirit does three things. He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. There is nothing here about speaking in tongues, performing miracles, or seeing the future. The Spirit has given those gifts, at times, to men. But here Our Lord speaks of why He sends the Spirit and of what the Spirit always does. The Son sends the Spirit to take what is His and declare it to you. He does not speak of His own authority. But He takes what is the Father’s and the Son’s and declares it to you. When He has done other things, miracles and such, it was to underscore or serve this gift. For by this declaration, what is the Son’s is now yours, the Holy Spirit guides you into Jesus, into Truth.
The Spirit convicts you of sin. Because you do not believe in Jesus. He convicts you of righteousness. Because Jesus has gone to the Father for you. And He convicts you of judgment. Because the devil has been judged, and removed from the bench, so that you go free. This is still the work of the Spirit today. This is the message of the Church.
You are a sinner. You commit sins because you do not believe in Jesus. You do not trust Him. You think He is holding out on you, that He doesn’t care about what you want or need, that He is not providing what it takes to make you happy, and so forth. So you take it for yourself. If you believed in Him you would not sin. You would wait for Him to give you what you want. You would trust that He knows best and cares for you. But you do not. You think you are smarter than Jesus, nicer than Jesus, even that you love yourself more than Jesus loves you. That is why you sin. But your sin never works the way you thought it would, because Jesus does in fact love you.
The Law of the Lord isn’t just arbitrary rules for you to follow, meant to break you or teach who is boss, like making boot camp enlistees scrub the toilets with tooth brushes. Think of gossip. Why is it forbidden? Because no good comes of it, because it hurts not only those you talk about, but it also hurts you and those you tell. How many times have you gossiped and then regretted it?When have you have restrained yourself, not said something evil, told the truth, spoke well of other people, even your enemies, and then regretted it? Never. The Law is good. It shows us what is good. It shows us the best way to live, what we were made for, how life is the most satisfying. But you have broken it. You have failed. You have acted foolishly, selfishly. You have hurt people. You have dishonored God. You have not believed that Jesus was good, that He loves you. You are a sinner. Repent.
That is the first conviction. But that is not all the Holy Spirit has to say. He also convicts of righteousness. Because Jesus has gone to the Father. You are righteous. Jesus has come to the earth and taken up your flesh, made Himself a sacrifice for sin, defeated death, Hell, and the devil, and then gone to heaven, to the Father, as a Man, for you. He has opened heaven to all believers. You are righteous because Jesus has paid your debt and gone to present your case to His Father, because Jesus loves you. Yes, you are a sinner. But He came for sinners. He died for your sins. The conviction that we are sinners is not bad or evil in the least. Indeed, it drives us to the Gospel. If we are sinners, then we have a Savior. The point is this: you are righteous in Christ. Jesus is your Mediator, your High Priest, and your Advocate. He points to the marks on His hands and feet as payment in full. Justice has been satisfied. The Law has no accusations left. You are righteous. The devil is defeated. He cannot have you. You belong to Jesus.
This is what the Spirit takes from Jesus and declares to be yours. The Lord makes a great exchange. He takes your sin, guilt, shame, and mortality. And in exchange for them, by the Spirit’s declaration, He gives you what is His: His righteousness, innocences, holiness, blessedness, perfection, love, grace, the service of angels, the Name of His Father, access to heaven, and so forth. He takes what is yours. He gives you what is His. It is not a fair exchange. It is mercy. It is the way of the Lord. It is what “the meek shall inherit the earth” is talking about. And by it, you are righteous. The Spirit seeks to convict you of this, that is, convince you, that for Jesus’ sake, at Jesus’ Word, you are righteous, the beloved of the Father.
Consider this. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, of necessity and for our good. But imagine if He stopped there, if He only preached the Law. Who would be pleased? The devil. If the devil had his way, we would not only put the ten commandments onto the walls of our court rooms, but raise monuments in our living rooms, classrooms, and bedrooms, in our libraries and bars, casinos and brothels, bus stations and grocery stores. We would never escape from the Law. All we would know is the first conviction: you are a sinner.
The Law is good but the devil loves it. Why? Because it is one of his chief allies, a fellow prosecuting attorney. The Law always accuses. So does the devil. Remember the temptation of Our Lord? The devil uses the Word of God for his purpose, which is always the same, to accuse, condemn and kill. But thanks be to God, the Spirit has more of the Word than that! What the devil despises is not the Word of God but the proper use of God’s Word, the distinction and application of Law and Gospel.
The Spirit convicts. You are a sinner. But there is more. The devil would not only stop there, but he would twist it. For his method is to always show us but one side of Christ. He preaches the Law as though you can do it, obtain the good, and avoid the bad, in the commandments by “giving it all you’ve got.” He says, “See. The Holy Spirit and I agree. You are a sinner. Now you need to just try harder.” By this he would either lead you to despair, because no matter how hard you try you would not make it, or he would lead you to the delusion of self-righteousness and teach you to compare yourself to others.
The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, but differently than the devil. He does not hold the Law as a promise to be obtained or a goal to be reached. It is simply a statement of fact: You are a sinner. You do not believe in Jesus. You deserve damnation. But the Spirit continues. He uses the Law in mercy in order to expose you and convict you, but this is to prepare you for the Gospel.
So the Spirit convicts. You are judged. You make your confession. You say, “I am a sinner. I am guilty.” But you also say, “I am baptized. Jesus has claimed me. I wait on Him. He declares me righteous. The Lord will fulfill His Word.” The Spirit’s conviction always leads to Jesus.
Then the evidence is presented. The court is shown the perfect life, suffering, and death of Jesus Christ. The gavel comes down. You confessed guilt, but Jesus showed His sacrifice. The pronouncement is made: “You are innocent. You are righteous.” And that is the judgment of heaven. You are like Barabbas. You go free. Jesus takes your place. So also, the devil is judged. He brought false accusations against you. You have no sins. You are forgiven, as clean as the new fallen snow. You are righteous, a saint of the Most High. The devil slandered you. He tormented you. He tempted you. He is a liar. He is judged and condemned because of it. He cannot do this to you, a prince of heaven, the bride of Christ, the beloved of the Father. The Father is well-pleased with you. You are righteous. The devil is chained in Hell forever. His power was always an illusion, now it is gone. He has nothing left. He is judged, and there is no one left to accuse you. You are judged: innocent.
The Holy Spirit does three things. He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Thanks be God. He does them all in mercy and He does them all for us.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Fourth Sunday of Easter Leviticus 8:1-13, 30-36; Luke 9:1-17
April 26 Leviticus 9:1-24; Luke 9:18-36
April 27 Leviticus 10:1-20; Luke 9:37-62; Leviticus 11:1-15:33
April 28 Leviticus 16:1-24; Luke 10:1-22
April 29 Leviticus 17:1-16; Luke 10:23-42
April 30 Leviticus 18:1-7, 20-19:8; Luke 11:1-13
May 1 Leviticus 19:9-18, 26-37; Luke 11:14-36
CANTATE—THE Fifth SUNDAY Of EASTER
Though Jesus has departed from us visibly to the right hand of the Father who sent Him, yet this is to our advantage. For Jesus–who is Lord over all creation, who intercedes for us before the Father, who is preparing a place for us in heaven–has sent the Helper, the Spirit of Truth. (John 16:5–15) “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights” through Christ. (James 1:16–21) The Holy Spirit helps us by taking of what is Christ’s and declaring it to us. In the Word of truth the Spirit works repentance and delivers to us the forgiveness of sins, the righteousness of Christ, and victory over the devil. For the ruler of this world is judged and defeated by the cross. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit we have been brought forth to new life in Him who is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Confident of our resurrection with Christ we confess, “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid.” (Isaiah 12:1–6)
Collect
Our merciful Father, the God who alone make minds of the faithful to be of one will, cause Your people to love what You command and to desire what You promise, that among the manifold changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
Old Testament: Isaiah 12:1–6 [First song of Isaiah]
Epistle: James 1:16–21 [Every good and perfect gift]
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. “Come and see the awesome works of God,” invites the Psalmist. They are the cause of joyful shouts, singing, and praise.
He has turned the sea to dry ground. This defines all the works of the Lord. For first of all, He is the God who delivered us out of slavery, the God who provides the promise, the crushing of our enemy's skull, before the consequence and curse. The Lord has intervened on our behalf. He has thrown horse and rider into the sea. He has marked us with the blood of His Lamb so that the angel of death passes over us. He has turned the sea to dry ground.
But that is not all. There are other works of God toward men. He has also brought us into the net. He has laid affliction on our backs. We go through fire and through water. This is also the Lord’s doing toward us. He breaks us. He exposes us. He accuses and even kills us.
Because we are sinners. We are selfish, resentful, hateful, petty, and proud. We are surrounded by beautiful wives, without a care in the world, and cast our eyes with lust and greed upon the one who belongs to Uriah. We are surrounded by delicious and interesting food in the plush vitality of paradise, without any hunger or need, and we look upon the single tree, the unworthy and seductive fruit, and though it means the loss of all we love, the torture of animals, plants, and even the earth, the sorrow and death of our children, the partial-loss of God's image and the perversion of marital intimacy and companionship, even though it means our own death, we look with lust and greed upon the forbidden fruit and we take it.
We do not need to sin. We can overcome it. We are not simply weak victims. The devil does not make us do it. Rather, we are evil. We choose it. We crush our consciences. Do not make excuses. Do not pretend to be ignorant. Like Adam and David you have chosen sin without need or any extenuating circumstance. You have rebelled against God and dared Him to notice or act against you. You have been stupid with lust and pride, taken huge risks, without care for what would happen to you or those you love if you were caught. Repent.
This is the net the Lord has brought you to. This is the affliction He lays upon your back. Repent, but do not despair. Rather, as the Psalmist says, “rejoice.” See the effects of the Law on your life, your illnesses, your divorce, your child support payments, indebtedness, funerals, loneliness, and so forth, and praise God for all of them. For He loves you too much to leave you on your own. He breaks you, exposes you, and even kills you. But this He does, as He does all things, in perfect mercy. He does not do this for His benefit or from some perverse enjoyment, but He does this for your benefit, out of your need, lest you fall away, that He might bring you life again.
Even as He has led you into the Law's net, so also, He has brought you to rich fulfillment, out of slavery, out of death. He keeps your soul among the living. He does not allow your feet to be moved. He hears your prayers. He is merciful. He is good. This is the foundation of all our praise, the reason we are bold to pray at all, the strength of our faith and the essence of our hope. Yes, we are sinners, unworthy of God's grace in Jesus Christ, but He is steadfast in His love. We do not praise God because we are good but because He is good. He does not love us because we deserve it, but because He has made a Promise. He is not stopped by our sin. He loves us and forgives us and counts us as His own perfect, undefiled, immaculate Bride.
Our Lord prophesies on the night in which He was betrayed that we will have sorrow. Our hour has not yet come. We must yet endure the chaos of a broken world. We must wait until the last saint, the elect of God, is sealed in the waters of Holy Baptism and creation's anticipatory groaning is brought to an end. But our sorrows will turn to joy, in a little while, in our resurrections like unto His Resurrection, at some near, but imprecise point in the future, we will see Jesus. Our hearts will rejoice. No one will take our joy from us and all our sorrow will cease. For the Lord Jesus Christ did not abandon His disciples in laying down His life. He was taken from them for a little while, and they had terrible sorrows until the third day and the revelation of His victory over death and the fulfillment of all the Scriptures, but He did not abandon them. Rather He served them. He went away for their good, to provide what they most needed: reconciliation with the Father, righteousness won through Hell's worst punishment.
There is a sense in which even your sorrows, in Christ, are a cause for joy, for hope. Not simply because the Lord works all things together for good, which He does, but because your sorrows show your dissatisfaction with this world, that you do not belong here. Nothing here can ever satisfy you because everything here, no matter how good it is, is always broken, always tainted with sin. You are sorrowful because you long to be with your Shepherd, to be free, not only of the sins of others, but also of your own sin and temptation. Your sorrows demonstrate that you belong to Jesus, that this is not your home. They also show that the Word of the Lord is true. He said you would have sorrows and you do. Your sorrows also show how the Lord provides. For the Lord Jesus only eats with and receives sinners. It is only the sick who need the Physician. It is only the sorrowful who need the comfort of the Holy Spirit. You need Jesus and Jesus provides. And finally, your sorrows bring you into the way of the cross, into the way of Jesus. Faith sees these things and confesses against them, like standing in the cemetery and saying, “O grave, where is thy victory?” In the midst of evil, in the midst of sorrow, faith says, “The Lord is good and works all things together for good.”
The Law shines light upon our errors - our ever-seeking after pleasures of the flesh, control of our lives, or security in this world, and because we belong to Jesus, because we are baptized, we do not reject the light and slink back into the darkness. But we confess. We repent. We wait for the mercy of the Lord to make Himself known.
Come see what the Law has done to us, the work of the Lord toward us. Come and see our disease, and rejoice. For when can liars ever be trusted? When they say, ‘I am a liar.’ This is how it is with our confession. It pleases God because it is true. We say, “I am a liar. I am a sinner. I am man of unclean lips.” And the angels in heaven say, “Amen,” and rejoice. Not only because we have told the truth, but also because the holy angels rejoice over every sinner who repents.
The Lord shines that light, His holy Law, in mercy. He shines it that we would return to the way of righteousness, that we would repent. Thus do we pray that the Lord would grant to all of us, who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s religion by grace, who have received the forgiveness of all our sins and are declared holy by Christ, the power to avoid those things that are contrary to our faith and follow such things that are good, which is to say, the things that the Law of the Lord has shown us are good.
Yes, we are sinners. We have sorrows. Our lives are broken. It is our fault, our own, most grievous fault. But so too do we have hope. The Lord turned the sea to dry ground, death to life, sorrow to joy. Jesus lives. Death is dead. Hell has no power over us or claim upon us. Jesus lives and there is no one left to accuse us. Your works, your life, your faith are pleasing to God. You are the cause of angelic rejoicing. In a little while, your sorrows will end. The Lord will complete the good work He has begun in you. You will rise from the dead, free of the old man and all temptation. You will be like the Lord. You will be as you were always meant to be, as Jesus has already declared you to be: righteous, holy, innocent, without shame, beloved of the Lord.
Rejoice. Jesus lives. Your sins are forgiven. In + Jesus' Name. Amen.
